Orlando

Woke up to grey skies here in Basel. I do miss the sun already and going for a morning run along the beach. Trying to catch up and shake off the jet lag as well. Took a pill of melatonin last night. I did help falling a sleep. I thought I would continue with our next stop after leaving the beach.

After leaving Ft.Meyer's beach we spent a few days in Orlando and had time to visit two of the many them parks. It was the girls first time at Disney World so of course they did Magic Kingdom on the first day. As me and C had been to Disney's Magic Kingdom in 2008 we decided to go for Epcot instead with Carl's parents. 

We hit Epcot just as the cold front reached Florida. It was a beautiful and sunny day but only 6 degrees Celsius. So we had to wear our warmest clothes (well we only had what we traveled in but that had to be good enough). The advantage of the cold weather was that there were not many people in the park.

Last time I was at Epcot was when I was 18 so it was fun to be back once more. However, compared to the other parks in my opinion I would rather go for something else. I did not find Epcot as great as I did when I visited it for the first time a number of years ago. If I ever go to Disney again I would go for Universal Orlando  and head for Islands of Adventure to visit Harry Potter's world. There are just so many theme parks in Orlando and my advice is to plan ahead and figure out what you want to do and where you want to go. There is plenty of information and some reading ahead is necessary if you are going for theme parks in Orlando.

 During our second day in Orlando we visited Sea World. A great park for both kids and adults. Not so many rides and roller coasters but some fantastic shows. Sea World is the place to go for great shows. We saw this amazing dolphin show.

 We had a close up encounter with Shemu and his friends at the killer whale aquarium. All shows at Sea World are truly amazing and wonderful and all are well worth seeing. 

 Besides the shows there are several aquariums with both colorful fish and tunnels where you have the sharks swimming over your head. A fascinating world for both small and grown ups.

Between shows and visits to aquariums you can have some simple fun by jumps. Being the favorite auntie calls for some playfulness and participation when it comes to jumps and other games.

On our last evening in Orlando we had made reservations at Narcoossee's restaurant at the Grand Floridian hotel located within Disney's Magic Kingdom. The restaurant is located right by the lake and you can enjoy the view of the Disney castle being illuminated as well as the grand firework show at 8 pm each evening. However, dinner reservations here need to be made at least 6 months in advance, but it is well worth it.

 The fireworks are truly spectacular and synced with music. It is very very cool! You have a great view over the show either from the outside patio of the restaurant or you can just stay at your table and enjoy it all equally well.

 The food is just amazing as the fireworks. A dining experience here is a true treat.

We spent three nights in Orlando and did two theme parks. Even if you can easily spend an entire week here just doing various theme parks two or three days is just about enough for a visit. Each park requires a full day. Theme parks are fun but also tiresome. 

From Orlando we headed to Miami for our final day. I will leave Miami for another day. The drive takes about four hours but for us took most of the day as we stopped for lunch and also ended up in some busy traffic as we approached Miami. Thunder and heavy rain also made our journey slower part of the way. We reached Miami early evening, which was perfect. Had time to enjoy the sunset from the roof top terrace at our hotel before heading out for dinner.